This application relates to the allocation of digital library subscription revenue generated, for example, by the distribution of digital content such as music, movies, images, and texts.
The distribution of digital content such as music, movies, images and the like over the Internet has become pervasive. Distribution services include “peer-to-peer” systems in which individual users store content on their local computers and then make that content available to other users for download either on a fee-basis or free of charge, and “digital service provider” (DSP) systems in which a central authority, the DSP, hosts digital content (e.g., songs) owned by one or more content owners (e.g., record labels, individual artists, licensing companies) on a central system and then selectively allows individual users, or subscribers, to download or otherwise to access the digital content of interest.
In general, DSP systems operate on a fee-basis and will charge subscribers using any of several different mechanisms. In a flat rate subscription arrangement, the DSP will charge a user a flat fee for unlimited access to one or more libraries of digital content. In a usage-based arrangement, users will be charged based on actual use, for example, a predetermined fee for each download or other access to each item of digital content. Alternatively, a hybrid system can be used in which a subscriber is charged a flat subscription fee for some content but is charged on a usage-basis for other content.
In addition, a subscriber may be charged different rates depending on the method of accessing the digital content. For example, a subscriber who downloads a song in MP3 format to a local computer, thereby retaining a copy of it for future use or copying, might be charged a larger fee than if the subscriber merely accessed the content in a one-time use manner (e.g., as streaming media).
In general, a subscription is an agreement to exchange access to digital content during specified periods of time for a fee, regardless of the method of access or whether additional charges apply for particular usage of the digital content. Thus, a licensing agreement between a DSP and a content provider in which the DSP pays a flat fee for the right to distribute digital content from a particular digital library, or content aggregation, is also a subscription agreement. A portion of the subscription fee, which in this case is the licensing fee paid by the DSP, typically is allocated in some fashion to those with rights and royalties in the digital content in the digital library.
Conventional subscription-based systems for electronic delivery of digital content typically allocate subscription revenues to authors on a pro rata basis. Moreover, these conventional subscription-based systems for electronic delivery of digital content typically are not integrated with existing rights and royalty systems.